VPNs are a powerful tool if you know how to use them. Of course, some websites and services don’t cooperate with VPNs, but most major VPN services keep your data and location safe and anonymous. However, one state is waging a confusing war against VPNs in the name of child safety. At least, that’s the purported idea.
In March 2026, Utah Governor Spencer Cox signed Senate Bill 73. The bill, which had passed the Senate 22-2 and the House 66-1, takes effect on September 3, 2026. Senate Bill 73 would be designed to strengthen Utah’s age verification requirements, particularly those for websites containing “content harmful to minors.” The takeaway is that the bill targets VPNs without actively targeting them. Essentially, anyone who uses a VPN in the state of Utah is still considered a user in Utah, regardless of the website’s country of origin. As such, these websites must (in one way or another) follow Utah’s age verification guidelines to protect children.
The only time the bill actually mentions VPNs is when it prohibits websites from “encouraging users – especially minors – to use VPNs to circumvent age barriers.” This includes providing tutorials. Any website violating the bill can be charged up to $2,500 and taken to court.
The bill could operate on potentially flawed assumptions
You should always research a VPN before using one or signing up for a premium VPN subscription. Not all services are equal, and the VPN industry is full of blatantly false myths. The people who signed and passed the bill might believe some of these myths, which could undermine its effectiveness.
As outlets like Gizmodo point out, you can’t really determine the origin of network traffic when VPNs are involved. Is someone trying to stream content that you can only watch in Canada by using a VPN to access the show, or are they located in Canada? VPNs have numerous tools that are constantly being upgraded to mask users’ locations, so any attempt to enforce the bill could result in a potentially futile digital escalation war. The only real way would be to block all VPNs, but that’s a whole other box of legal worms.
Since Senate Bill 73 doesn’t really affect VPNs as a whole, the average user can activate their VPN program without any problems or worries. The law only comes into effect if a minor uses a VPN to access sites they shouldn’t, and even then it may be impossible to prove that a website, especially a foreign one, has done anything to break the law. Besides, who is to say that a minor actually used a VPN to bypass age barriers? Maybe an adult did it, forgot to log out, and then the child used their computer. Add to that the vague definition of “harmful to minors” content, and the lawyers supporting the bill have quite a Sisyphean battle on their hands.
